


New Year's Eve in Hell

by Skrigget



Series: Are we related? [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: AU, Angst, Brothers, F/F, Family, Fluff, Kid Fic, Kid!Danny, Kid!Erica, Kid!Isaac, Kid!Jackson, Kid!Liam, Kid!Malia, M/M, Mild Smut, New Year's Eve, Past Abuse, Sexual Content, Step-Sibling Incest, Step-parents, Step-siblings, kid!Cora
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-28
Updated: 2014-12-28
Packaged: 2018-03-04 00:39:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,600
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2902976
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Skrigget/pseuds/Skrigget
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Stiles looks around and wonders – not for the first time that evening – what he’s doing surrounding by toddlers on New Year’s Eve when he could be out partying. And okay he knows he doesn’t have like an unlimited supply of friends just waiting for him but he has some, right, and he should be partying with them but – </p><p>But they are sitting around him. Among the toddlers. Because apparently this is their life, too. </p><p>or: the one where everyone is either a kid or somehow related to one of the kids. And everyone is family and everyone is alive and everyone is happy (more or less)</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Year's Eve in Hell

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, sorry, I don't really know what happened with this fic. I wanted to write a kid fic and so I did but, yeah, there's possibly too many kids but hey who cares, right?
> 
> So! this story contains step-brother-incest. 
> 
> ages:  
> Malia and Cora = 4  
> Isaac = 7  
> Jackson = 7  
> Danny = 8  
> Kira and Erica = 5  
> Lydia, Allison, Scott & Stiles = 17  
> Boyd and Derek = 21  
> Laura = 24  
> Ethan & Aiden = 18-ish?  
> Liam = two-ish 
> 
> ALSO this is as always un-betaed and I'm uploading this while I'm at work so I'm sorry for the typos!

Stiles looks around and wonders – not for the first time that evening – what he’s doing surrounding by toddlers on new year’s eve when he could be out partying. And okay he knows he doesn’t have like an unlimited supply of friends just waiting for him but he has some, right, and he should be partying with them but –

But they are sitting around him. Among the toddlers. Because apparently this is their life, too _. God._

\--

How Stiles life came to be like this started a long, long time ago. Nine years ago, to be precious. Or maybe even sooner, back when –

It doesn’t matter.

Anyhow.

Stiles once had a mom and a dad and that was awesome. Beyond awesome. It was magnificent, actually. And then Claudia Stilinski died and left her son and husband more or less alone which wasn’t… awesome. At all. In fact it was downright devastating.

Stiles was eight.

Two years later his dad married Melissa McCall and that was awesome, too. Not as awesome as his actual mother, of course, but he still loved (still does) Melissa very, very much.

Melissa had a handful of kids from two previous marriages. The first one had been with Peter Hale who’d turned out to be an utter asshole. Before she learned this, however, she had two kids with him: a daughter and a son.

Then she married McCall. Also an utter asshole. They had Scott. Stiles' best friend in the whole white world.

When they married Scott and Stiles where ten, Derek fourteen and Laura seventeen. At first Scott and Stiles had to share a room but when Laura moved at eighteen because she was to attend a collage a few states away they got their own. (Not that it mattered anyway they practically lived in one room no matter what).

And then everything was fine and dandy for about two years and then John came across another asshole. This one was named Lahey and he had a son named Isaac. Isaac was at that time only two years old, but asshole number three was already abusing him by kicking and punching him and locking him in the freezer.

So, John being a responsible human being and also not an asshole took Isaac home with him for the time being because he couldn’t stand the thought of him in some home left utterly alone. And somehow ‘the time being’ turned into… years.

They adopted Isaac exactly one year after he first made an appearance in their lives. But not after a long talk with their other kids. They even called Laura and had her come home for the weekend. Of course none of the kids could see anything wrong with adopting Isaac so he was accepted into the household where he was already a steady being.

A year later – at the age of twenty – Laura told everyone she was pregnant. With who apparently didn’t matter because Stiles never saw or heard mention of any boyfriend. Melissa was furious of course and John asked if he should threaten anyone, any young boys preferably, and tell them that _he was a cop and could possibly and without hesitation throw them into jail if they so much as thought about touching his daughter!_

But Laura was cool about it, told them all it was her decision, that she wanted the child (ha, _one_ , as if), and that she was still going to graduate.

And Laura was (still is) exactly the kind of woman to do what she sets out to do and so she did. Just before turning twenty-one she had twins (“twins?” “Yes, mom, twins” “Are… can we, like, see them?” “Scott, they’re not aliens!”).

And so suddenly Stiles was an uncle to two girls; Malia and Cora Hale. And Stiles still remembered when it had just been him and his dad and his mom but it became increasingly harder to remember what his old house had smelled like without four boy’s there, what it had sounded like without four boys to shout and yell and discuss with each other, or whether or not he’d still been tripping over lacrosse gear thrown all over the place or teddy bears and other toys scattered all over the floor. But he didn’t mind, he found, he didn’t mind at all.

The year after they all had Christmas together and it was loud with two babies, a toddler, three teenage boys, a young mother and a married couple but it was perfect.

When Stiles turned fifteen Derek moved out. He lived no too far away in a cheap apartment so he was closer to collage. At first Melissa, being the gentle, caring creature she was (still is), thought that it was her fault, that she hadn’t spoken with him properly, and she feared Derek felt like he was pushed out with all his younger brothers invading his space. It took weeks (possibly years) for Derek (and Scott, and Stiles, and even Laura) to convince her that he _wanted_ to move for his own reasons that had _nothing_ to do with younger brothers.

And so Stiles and Scott got their own bedroom again and this time it was a bit more useful because at the tender age of sixteen Scott met Allison.

It was also at the tender age of sixteen that Scott and Stiles properly talked to Lydia Martin and learned that she wasn’t a goddess but in fact a real human being.

And this is where the problem began to take form.

Because alone, yes, Scott and Stiles could possibly be told to watch Isaac for an afternoon or maybe even their nieces. But that was only three toddlers. Not seven.

It had happened because John and Melissa still had – god forbid – sex which none of their children wanted to know _absolutely anything_ about and so they had to occasionally take a weekend trip here or there to, ahem, tend to their young marriage or whatever excuse they used. Whatever, Stiles wasn’t complaining so long as he hadn’t actually walked in on anything. And god forbid the day would ever come.

So, Scott and Stiles were babysitters for a weekend. No big deal, they’d done that before. Plenty of times. No biggie. It was just their baby brother Isaac.

Until it wasn’t.

Because then Laura called.

“Hello,” Stiles answered Scott’s phone.

“Hey yo, Stiles, how are things going – is that someone screaming?”

“That might be Isaac – Scott, can you please go take care of that?!”

There was a moment of silence.

“So, sister from another mister, how may I help you?”

“Well,” Laura said. “You know mom and dad’s weekend trip next weekend?”

“Sure do,” Stiles answered as he watched Scott carry Isaac into the living room.

“Well,” Laura said, “It’s been canceled.”

“What? Why? I haven’t heard anything.”

“No, mom just called me. Now, pay attention Stiles! Here’s the thing. I may be able to book another hotel for them another weekend and to half of what they were supposed to pay at the other place.”

“Really?” Stiles beamed. “Awesome!”

“Well,” Laura hesitated, “awesome indeed, yes.”

“But?” Stiles sensed a but. A clear, loud but.

“It’s just the thing. It’s New Year’s Eve – “

“Oh no.”

“And I can only make the arranges with the hotel if I cover a friend of mine’s shift that evening – “

“Laura, no.”

“And so you see I happen to have two daughters – “

“Happen to have?! _Laura_ , no!”

Scott and Isaac looked up from the couch but he ignored them both in favor of their sister. “You got to be kidding me if you think I’m going to babysit three toddlers New Year’s Eve – “

“Oh, come on. I’m covering the shift, am I not? They need the break, Stiles. And besides you are not going to be alone – “

“Oh hooray for Scott,” Stiles muttered only to get a grumpy “hey” thrown at him from the living room.

“No, I’ve called Derek, too!”

Stiles froze, furrowed his eyebrows and straighten his back. “No way he said yes?”

“Actually, he wasn’t that hard to persuade,” Laura said and she sounded almost smug that little – “So you have to help. If mom and dad end up old and depressed it’ll be on you.”

“And Scott,” Stiles mumbled, mind suddenly too occupied with thoughts of Derek and what Laura could possibly have said to him to get him home for New Year’s Eve.

“And Scott,” Laura agreed. “So, will you help?”

Stiles sighed and ran a hand through his hair. He looked into the living room where Isaac was bouncing up and down on the couch and Scott was filming him.

“Yeah, okay, whatever.”

“Thanks bro, I owe you!”

“You do, you totally do.”

And that was how he ended with his two nieces, his younger brother and Scott on New Year’s Eve but that doesn’t explain all the friends or the extra toddlers. Those came afterward.

Scott had been, to say the least, questionably happy to hear that Stiles had rented them out as babysitters for New Year’s Eve.

“But, what about the party – “

“What party?” Stiles hissed because he too wasn’t too happy about the whole situation.

“Okay, so there’s no party yet, but there will be and we won’t be there because we will be here – hey, where’s Isaac?”

They both looked at the couch where he’d been sitting just a few minutes prior. Scott frowned and furrowed his brows and Stiles sighed before they both got up and started rooming around their house for the last family member.

They found him after ten minutes in his wardrobe closet, skinny arms wrapped around his too long, too thin legs and his head hidden against his knees.

Scott and Stiles shared a quick look before they sat down and approached the child carefully.

“Hey, Isaac, bud, what’s the matter?” Scott asked.

He got no answer.

“Come on, Lahey, let’s go downstairs, you are missing Shrek – “

“Don’t wanna,” Isaac interrupted Stiles.

“Why not, bud?” Scott tried again, concern painting his features.

Another moment of silence.

Stiles sighed and Scott shot him an evil glare.

“Come on,” Stiles coaxed and reached forward. “Why are you so sad, Isaac?”

At first Isaac had been practically impossibly too approach – he’d been too frightened and no one could blame him. It took time but he slowly got out of his shell until he became a proper, cocky asshole (Stiles – and partly also Derek – especially likes to pride himself for corrupting the youngest member of the household), but Isaac was still a very sensitive kid and it didn’t take much to upset him.

“Come on, Isaac, what happened?” he continued on.

He mumbled something but didn’t look up.

“What was that?” Scott asked.

Isaac looked up at them and his seven years old face was covered in tears and his eyes were puffy and red. “You don’t want me.”

Stiles and Scott both had to swallow down hard at the sight of the broken boy. “Nonsense,” Stiles said and tried with a smile.

“Yeah, why’d you say that?” Scott continued.

“You said so, too,” Isaac mumbled. “Just before. You’re stuck with me New Year and you don’t wanna be.”

The two older brothers shared a quick look and they both felt a pang of guilt in their guts. Then Scott opened his arms and said: “We didn’t mean that. Isaac, come on. We’ll go downstairs and watch the rest of Shrek.”

Isaac seemed to think about it for a second before he finally crawled into Scott’s arms. He wrapped his arms around Scott’s neck and his leg’s folded around Scott’s waist and he clung to him like a koala.

“We didn’t mean it like that,” Stiles said as they walked downstairs. Isaac looked up from the crook of Scott’s neck and caught Stiles’ brown eyes. “We _do_ wanna hang out with you on New Year, Isaac, and even your nieces are coming, isn’t that going to be awesome?”

Isaac smiled and nodded.

“And Derek, too!” Scott beamed. “Derek’s coming just for you, okay, bud?”

“Okay,” Isaac answered and Scott and Stiles both sent him over-the-top smiles that were a bit too bright but he either didn’t notice or didn’t care.

It was back downstairs, with Shrek on the T.V. and pizza in the oven that child number four made its first appearance:

“Can I – Can I invite my friend?” Isaac asked and looked up at his older brothers.

“Sure,” Stiles shrugged. “When?”

“New Year’s Eve,” Isaac mumbled.

Stiles inhaled sharply but Scott grabbed his shoulder and sent him a quick look. “What’s the big difference?” He murmured. “One more or less.”

Stiles entire face twisted but then he sighed in defeat. The evening couldn’t possibly get any shittier so why not.

“Yeah, sure, let’s invite your friend over,” he said and Isaac smiled even brighter than before.

Child number five and six somehow joined the party the following day when Scott called Allison to tell her what had happened.

Melissa and John were both in the living room watching come cheesy romance movie and Stiles was playing video games with Isaac when Scott called Allison. Stiles could hear them from his room and at first it had been a regular conversation, involving a lot of Scott tripping over his words and generally making a fool of himself, but then words like ‘New Year’ and ‘babysitter’ and ‘cousin’ suddenly became part of it as well and Stiles had to pause the game so he could hear what Scott was saying.

“Hey, what are you doing – “

“Silent, you little midget,” Stiles hushed Isaac who huffed and was about to press play.

“Don’t touch that, you little shit, I’m eavesdropping.”

And this got little Isaac’s attention and he clapped a hand over his own mouth and his eyes got impossible wide as he watched the older boy.

Ten minutes later and Stiles was storming into Scott’s room – closely followed by a grinning Isaac. Stiles opened the door and Scott yelped in surprise.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Stiles asked.

“What?” Scott said bewildered. He looked from Stiles, who was frowning, to Isaac, who was beaming, and back as Stiles. “What?”

“Your conversation, Scotty, with Allison, none the less, where the words ‘yes, of course, you can come over New Year’s Eve but I have to looks after my brother, his friend, and my two nieces, well, oh do you have a younger cousin, well, that’s just marvelous, you can bring her right along, too’ were uttered!”

“Was that an attempt at a British accent, Stiles?” Scott asked.

Stiles made some wild, dismissing hand gestures. “Don’t change the subject.”

“That sounds nothing like Scotty,” Isaac pouted and Scott send the kid a big smile earning him an impressive eye roll from Stiles.

“Is your girlfriend bringing a kid to our already kid-filled New Year’s Eve or is your girlfriend _not_ bringing a kid to our – “

“Well,” Scott interrupted and by his sheepish, hesitating look Stiles could tell that whatever news he was about to deliver could not, in any universe and especially not in the Stilinski-universe, be categorized as good news.

“What did you do?”

“Actually,” Scott said and coughed awkwardly. “She’s, um, bringing her cousin and her, uh, cousin’s best friend as well, so…”

Stiles inhaled sharply, furrowed his eyebrows and gave Scott a long, hard look before he sighed deeply and fell down on the other‘s king sized bed. Two seconds later and Isaac was jumping up and down on said bed, almost kicking Stiles in the head with his tiny feet.

Stiles sat up, grabbed the kid and started tickling him until he could hardly breathe and finally surrendered. Isaac, out of breath and red in his face from laughter, dropped down next to his brother and the two of them looked at Scott who was obviously torn between looking guilty and pleased as hell.

“Come on, Stiles, its Allison – “

“Well, we know all about how you get when it’s Allison, don’t we, midget?” he said and shot Isaac a look. The kid smirked and send his brother a knowing look. Scott sputtered and his face turned red.

“Stiles, what have you – “ Scott hissed.

“Oh, don’t fuss, you two aren’t exactly being subtle, it wasn’t like I woke up the kid and told him you two were having sex – “

“Stiles!”

“He knows what sex is, Scotty, relax.”

“Yes, I do!” Isaac proudly announced.

Stiles send Scott a what-did-I-tell-you-look but then Isaac continued:

“It’s the thing Stiles gets none of.”

It was Stiles’ turn to gasp and look at the youngest with a mixture of disbelieve and betrayal. Meanwhile Scott was on the floor gasping for air, laughing so hard tears were rolling down his face.

“You – “

Isaac’s smirk turned into a wide grin.

“Little shit,” Stiles concluded. And then he lounged forward like a missile and Isaac yelped and jumped off the bed and ran out of the door with Stiles right behind him and Scott still rolling around on the floor.

(they made it about as far as the kitchen before Melissa caught them both and told them to help her make dinner instead of running around)

And had Stiles had any hope of convincing Scott to cancel his plans with Allison – and more importantly the smaller company that would apparently follow her – it disappeared when Isaac declared that he liked Allison, very much so, and wanted her there New Year’s Eve as well.

“You got a crush on your brother’s girlfriend, that’s gross, dude,” Stiles announced and Isaac’s entire face went through guilt, embarrassment, anger and frustration in a matter of ten seconds.

“No!” he shouted and Stiles could practically see the tears glimmering in the kid’s eyes.

“Stiles,” John hissed.

“What – “

“Apologize to your brother,” Melissa said sternly.

“I didn’t mean it,” Stiles lied. “Isaac knows that,” he looked at the kid with his angry tears and little, clenched fists, “right, kiddo? I’m messing with you, Isaac, you know I don’t mean it.”

Isaac took two sharp intakes of breath before he was able to nod and go back to eating.

Melissa shot Stiles another stern look and he muttered an apology.

And that was how one kid, turned to three kids, turned to four, suddenly turned six.

Stiles was convinced there were no more kids even _available_ to attend their New Year’s Eve party but he should’ve known better.

The last kid didn’t make an appearance until the day before New Year. At this point Derek and Laura as well as Cora and Malia had joined the family in Beacon Hills. Laura and the girls had Scott’s room, Scott was sharing with Isaac and Derek had joined Stiles in his bedroom. It never seized to amaze Stiles how so many people could fit into one seemingly regular sized house but it somehow always happened.

Christmas had come and passed without too much drama and each day they came closer and closer to New Year’s Eve. Stiles and Scott conveniently waited till the last possible moment to tell Derek that they had accidently agreed to open their house to more than just their relatives this New Year because they knew the oldest boy would be far from happy – he’d possibly be even more displeased than Stiles was.

So on the day before New Year’s Eve they were sitting in the living room watching Toy Story 3. The three kids were sitting in front of the couch, Isaac in between the two girls, in their pajamas, eyes so wide they could probably pop right out of their heads.

On the couch was Scott in one corner, Laura in the other, and Stiles sprawled out more or less on top of them.  They, too, were in their pajamas. On the chair sat John and Melissa, they had somehow managed wearing actual clothe and Stiles was mildly impressed by this. Derek was nowhere to be found. Stiles hadn’t seen him since breakfast and he'd checked their room but he wasn’t there.

And it wasn’t like Stiles was all that interested in where Derek was hiding or whatever, and if he was it had absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he’d grown impossibly hotter since the last time he’d been home. He just missed him, that was all, and if his stomach twisted sometimes when he caught the older one’s brown eyes it was because he was his _brother_ (as Stiles reminded himself over and over while he felt his stomach turn and his mouth get a sour taster).

By the end of the movie Scott and Stiles were both crying and Melissa and John watched them with amused glances. Laura was stifling her laughter against her palm and the three toddlers on the floor were smiling widely, apparently oblivious to the mental torture they were witnessing.

Stiles was just about to let go completely and let the tears roll freely when Derek entered through the front door. He too was wearing proper clothes and god did he look fit in them.

Not that Stiles noticed.

And if he did, he most certainly felt a pang of cold, harsh guilt and disgust hit him square in his chest.

The two girls – one more lively than the other – both got up from the floor and ran to the newly arrived boy.

“Uncle Derek, Uncle Derek,” they both shouted before they attacked his legs and almost managed to tackle him onto the ground.

It was Stiles’ turn to stifle his laughter.

Derek caught the two girls around their waists and lifted them both up, one under each arm, and carried them into the living room again.

“Where’re you’ve been, D?” Laura asked and took her two daughters back before handing one to Scott and another to Stiles.

“I met with Boyd, he’s home from Christmas too,” he said and sat down on the couch between Stiles and Scott.

Stiles swallowed hard but pretended not to notice the feeling of Derek’s muscles twisting against his own arm.

Malia started bouncing up and down on his lap impatiently and Stiles tried to coo her by pretending to eat her fists and this turned the small, brown-haired girl into a giggling mess.

“Oh, Vernon,” Melissa said. “How’s he doing?”

“Fine,” Derek shrugged. “Actually,” and he turned to Scott before he locked eyes with Stiles, “he asked if he could join us?”

Stiles couldn’t help but smile but he quickly looked away. “Sure, I don’t see why not.”

“Actually,” Scott mumbled, “we might be a few more than the originally planned group.”

“You make it sound like we’re throwing a party,” Derek frowned.

“We are,” Stiles muttered.

“Well, Allison’s coming,” Scott said and Derek rolled his eyes and mumbled a: “of course she is”.

Stiles smirked. On the floor Isaac got up and crawled into Laura’s lap and she wrapped her arm around him immediately.

“And my friend!” Isaac said in his loud, bright voice while he nodded his head so enthusiastically his curls bobbed around on his pretty, little head.

“Aha,” Derek said and made no sound when both Cora and Malia decided to crawl onto him again, practically using him like a climbing frame. He had one on his bag and one climbing over his shoulder when he continued: “What friend is that?”

“Jackson,” Isaac announced proudly.

Stiles lifted his eyebrows far up in his forehead. “I didn’t think you liked Jackson,” he said.

The boy looked at him and he looked positively too smug for his own good. “I don’t,” he said, “but I have a plan.”

Stiles caught his father’s eyes and they both shared a look torn between amusement, pride and disaster.

“And what is that, Zack?” Laura asked.

“Danny,” Isaac continued without hesitation. “He’s friends with Jackson. And he’s nice.”

“No,” Stiles said before the boy could continue any further. “We are not inviting any more children.”

“I’m not a child,” Isaac pouted.

“Hang on; what other children are we talking about?” Derek said and put both of his nieces down as if he needed room in case he needed to swing his fist or chase someone.

“Allison’s cousins!” Isaac said and then added again for good measure: “I’m not a child.”

“Cousins? As in more than one?”

“Well, there’s just one actual cousin – “ Scott tried.

“But two children all in all,” Stiles mumbled and shot the other one a dark look.

“What? Why?” Derek practically shouted. “How many is that? All in all?”

Before any on them could answer Isaac shouted: “Seven!”

The three other brothers turned to look at the youngest of them who was still beaming with delight.

“I think you’re counting one too many, bud,” Scott said carefully.

“Nope,” Isaac announced, popping the ‘p’ loudly. “Me and Jackson and the twins and Allison’s cousin and her friend and Danny. That makes one, two, three and four, five and six and – and seven!” and he held out his little hands to show them seven fingers and a proud smile.

“Danny,” Stiles said slowly as if he wasn’t sure what the word actually meant.

“Yes, Jackson’s friend Danny, Stiles,” Isaac said and rolled his eyes and is Stiles was too slow for his own good.

“How – where did Danny come in?” Stiles continued.

“The plan,” Isaac stage-whispered.

“Aha,” Scott said, his features both tired and amused. “What is this plan again?”

“Well,” Isaac explained and jumped down from Laura. “If I invited Jackson over then Jackson want to invite Danny over too and he has an older sister – “

“Lydia,” Stiles mused.

“Yes and Stiles liked her very much and she and Allison are good friends too so if we invite Danny too we can also invite Lydia and we already have Allison and it will be good because Stiles doesn’t get any sex.”

Stiles had a vicious coughing attack, Derek’s eyes grew impossible wider, John and Melissa nearly fell off their chair, Laura did actually roll off the couch and Scott was back to laughing so hard he was crying. On the floor next to the Christmas tree Malia and Cora’s heads shot up and they looked at their family.

“What’s sexes mommy?” Cora asked and this only caused Scott and Laura to laugh harder, Stiles to cough harder and Derek’s eyes to widen further.

A few minutes later when everyone seemed to have collected themselves again John looked at Isaac and said: “You’re too observant for your own good some times, kiddo.”

“ _Dad_ , don’t encourage him!” Stiles exclaimed loudly, his face red with anger and embarrassment.

“Well,” Laura said and scooped her younger brother into her arms again, “I think that settles it then. We better call Danny and Lydia and invite them over.”

“Yay!” Isaac shouted and then the twins got up and yelled as well before all four disappeared into the kitchen.

Stiles’ heart was beating impossible hard and he managed to carelessly angle himself further away from Derek on the couch.

Derek, in the meantime, seemed to have remembered that seven kids were potentially part of his New Year’s Eve and he looked at his brothers with renewed anger.

“Seven kids?” he said and glared from Stiles to Scott and back to Stiles.

“Don’t worry,” Stiles said quickly and raised both his hands in front of him in mock surrender. “Lydia won’t actually come just because her younger brother is invited, you know, she has friends, parties to attend, and maybe if we’re lucky neither will Danny then and possibly Isaac will cancel with this Jackson kid too – “

“She said yes!” they heard Laura shout from the kitchen and Stiles’ heart sped up again. “They’re both coming.”

There was a moment of silence where none of the boy’s moved a muscle. And then they all seemed to move at once:

Stiles turned and fled over the armchair and toward the stairs. On the other side of Derek Scott had had the same plan, fleeing over the armchair, but ran toward the bathroom instead.

“Get back here,” Derek growled.

“Boys, _no running_!” Melissa attempted but it was far too late, they were already in the middle of a pursued. Once Isaac became aware of this pursued he decided to join in by chasing Scott, when Derek was obviously heading for Stiles, and Malia and Cora jumped up and down in delight and began running after John who pretended to fall over something and land on the floor where his grandkids immediately surrounded him.  

Isaac caught Scott before he entered the bathroom and even managed to tackle him and crawl on top of him.

Meanwhile, Derek and Stiles had reached upstairs and were racing down the hallway. Just when Stiles was about to open their bedroom door firm hands caught him around the waist and turned him around and suddenly he was being pinned against a wall, a chest flat against his own.

Stiles’ breath got caught in his throat as he looked up at Derek who was suddenly standing too close.

It was all innocent, of course –

It would’ve been innocent had it been Scott or Isaac or – or anyone else but Derek, really.

But there he was, pressing his body against Stiles’, panting warm breath too close to the fragile skin on Stiles’ neck, holding Stiles’ hands above his heads, leaning down so they were impossibly close.

“Caught you,” Derek said and Stiles noticed how his voice sounded strained as if this was effecting him too. Stiles wasn’t sure if that was a comforting or disturbing thought.

“Yeah,” Stiles agreed and swallowed hard, “you did.”

And then there was a heartbeat of silence where the two of them just stood there, looking at one another, too close, too out of breath, too –

“Have you killed each other?” they heard Laura shout and before Stiles could even think about replying Derek had taking three steps back and was leaning against the opposite wall.

“We’re coming down now,” he said, eyes locked with Stiles’ for a few more seconds before he turned around and walked back downstairs without another word.

Stiles watched him disappear and felt the lump in his throat tighten and tighten until he felt like he couldn’t breathe and then he closed his eyes, slid down the wall and sighed deeply before uttering a heavy amount of curses.

It took him a few more minutes before he could gather up what he had left of his dignity and go downstairs; carefully avoiding Derek’s eyes, though that wasn’t too hard considering the other man wasn’t looking at Stiles at all.

\--

And that is the story of how Stiles ended up surrounded by no less than seven kids, between the age of four and eight, as well as five other teenagers (more or less) on New Year’s Eve.

Jackson, Danny and Isaac are on the floor next to Lydia and Allison building a large Lego house that will fall approximately 2 seconds after they’ve finished building it. Allison’s adorable cousin Erica – at the age of five – is sitting right next to Boyd, looking up at him like he is her sun and moon and every fucking star on the night sky as well. Her friend, Kira, also five, has apparently found a Soulmate in Malia because they are both sitting next to the Christmas tree doing god knows what but Stiles seriously hopes it doesn’t involve fire because he’s not up for that. And Cora is running in circles around Scott and Stiles, shouting something about them being her prisoners.

“Dude, we should call for back up,” Scott tells Stiles. “She’s caught up.”

Cora sneers – and how the fuck can she even do that she’s four (Stiles blames Derek) – and Stiles has to really control himself not to roll his eyes for the hundredth time that evening. He looks at the clock right above Derek’s head: it’s only ten.

He casts a glance at Lydia on the floor, talking away with Allison, and he still thinks it’s weird that she is here and not at some fancy party somewhere but hey, you don’t hear him complaining. About her, anyway. The children, on the other hand, well…

“Dude,” Scott says again and nudges him with his shoulder.

“What,” Stiles hisses.

“We are surrounded,” Scott informs him.

“By our four year old niece,” Stiles tells him.

“Yes,” Scott agrees, “and we need back up.”

“In the form of _who_ did you have in mind, Scotty-boy?”

“Derek! Boyd!”

Before Stiles can open his mouth and protest Boyd has left the couch and is going toward them. Under his arm he holds a giggling five year Erica who’s curls dance around her head when Boyd bounces up and down as he moves. Derek is a little slower to react but eventually he too gets up to rescue them.

“Free the prisoners,” Boyd says in a loud, clear voice that makes both Cora and Erica giggle.

“No!” Cora shouts.

“Please?” Boyd tried.

“No!”

“We tried,” Boyd shrugs and Erica giggles again.

Derek, however, isn’t through with the negotiations. And he sits down in front of his niece and asks her seriously: “What do you want in return?”

Cora makes this adorable thinking face where she furrows her eyebrows and looks a lot like her mother and oldest Uncle. She thinks about the question for a little while before she grins and shows her missing tooth

“I want an – an strange, an estrange, ex – ex – “

“Exchange?” Stiles offers.

“Yes! I want an extivange!”

“Oh,” Derek says and he too seems to think about this new piece of information for a second or two before he answers: “Who do you want in exchange for whom?”

This seems to be too much information for the toddler because she frowns and looks absolutely distressed so Scott quickly pipes in:

“What about exchanging Uncle Stiles for Uncle D, pumpkin?”

Around the others have stopped their doings and are instead watching them with renewed interest as if this is the best thing they’ve ever seen.

“I vote for freeing Scott,” Allison laughs and Lydia joins in. Stiles just rolls his eyes.

“No,” Derek says on the floor, still very serious. “You don’t wanna keep Uncle Stiles, do you? No. Uncle Stiles is very annoying, isn’t he?”

Isaac and Boyd both laugh and Stiles shoots the pair of them angry looks. Lydia and Allison too look amused.

“No, no, you’d wanna keep Uncle Scott. Stiles is annoying. He talks too much, doesn’t he, princess? And too loud, too. He’s not very strong – “

“Hey!”

“ – and even if is he smart he still can’t put two and two together, can he? He’s a brat, really. An immature, annoying, obnoxious brat, you don’t want him.”

Somewhere, Stiles isn’t sure where, Derek stopped play pretending. And Stiles is suddenly very aware that he means every word, every single thing he’s said, and that knowledge cuts into his guts like a knife and twists and turns.

He is staring at Derek but he isn’t sure if there’s anger or hurt in his eyes, maybe a mixture of both. Scott, Lydia, Allison and Boyd have all gone very, very silent at the display and Stiles can feel their eyes drifting between Derek and him but he pretends not to notice. Jackson is laughing still as well as Kira and Erica, but the twins; they don’t really know what going on anymore so they are just watching with frowns on their faces. And Danny, because he is a smart child, and Isaac, because he is their brother, can sense that something is wrong and so they too are not uttering a word, but simply looking at the ‘’grown-ups’’ silently, trying to figure out what will happen next.

“Well,” Stiles finally says and even can hear how his voice breaks at the end, which is stupid, because this is stupid, fucking Derek, who he used to play tag with in the back garden, or train lacrosse with on Saturdays, or watch stupid Disney movies with, with Scott when their parents and Laura weren’t home. “You don’t wanna exchange _anyone_ with Derek, pumpkin,” Stiles says and sits down so he can make eye contact with Cora and pretend it’s still her he's addressing. “Derek is very grumpy. You see that frown he’s wearing? It’s permanent. It comes with thinking he had to grow up too fast, I’ll tell ya, because he wanted to be the best at everything and he simply couldn’t handle having a bit of fun while doing it. So,” Stiles continues as if his four year old niece understands what he’s even saying at this point, “of course now he has no idea how to have fun. At all. That is actually sad. He sucks at conversations. Or just generally socializing with other human beings while not looking like he’s about to eat their heads, and therefor Uncle D doesn’t actually have any friends. Because he’s an angry, bitter, superficial, lonely teenager, who thinks he has the right to act like a complete douchebag because he is the oldest, isn’t that stupid? Nope, you don’t want him. There’s no fucking future in him, kiddo.” This is where he should stop but he has to add: “He’ll end up disappointing you, just like he’s already disappointed his mom and my dad and probably will always disappoint them.”

Silence.

Followed by loud crying.

Coming from Cora – because she feels attacked and confused – and therefor also by Malia who’ll stand up to her sister no matter what – even if it means crying for seemingly no reason at all.

And this is about when Stiles snaps back into reality and he realizes what just took place around him.

When he looks from his crying niece he finds Derek’s hard, dark eyes glaring at him with actual hate showing in them.

“Princess,” Scott says and wraps his arm around Cora while Allison takes care of Malia. They have to make them stop before the crying spreads to the other kids.

Lydia, in the meantime, stares at Stiles and Derek like she just saw them for first time and doesn’t like what she’s seeing at all. Boyd has gone into a form of shock on the couch. Jackson isn’t laughing but he thankfully isn’t crying either. Kira, looking very puzzled by the situation, is making her way towards Danny.

Once the two crying girls have calmed down again there is another loud, piercing silence in the living room only broken by the occasionally sobs from either of the twins.

Then Isaac gets up, marches up to Derek and Stiles, and hits them both with his little fists once before screaming: “You are both stupid, stupid, _stupid_ and I _hate_ you!” and then he turns around and leaves, running towards the front door before anyone has time to react.

And then he’s gone and the doors is wide open and everyone’s staring at it, expecting Isaac to return but he doesn’t and the door is still wide open and –

“Isaac!” Scott shouts and gets up from the couch. “ _Isaac_!”

“Where did Isaac go?” Jackson asks and to Stiles’ surprise the boy actually looks distressed by his missing friend. Almost like he’s about to cry or throw a tantrum.

Lydia gets up next and quickly gets over to the two remaining boys. “Don’t worry, Jackson,” she says, “he’ll be right back.”

“How do you know?” the kid demands to know.

“Because I’m psychic,” she says dramatically. Stiles sees Danny rolls his eyes as if she’s used this lie before but Jackson doesn’t see and his eyes grow wide as he stares at the beautiful, strawberry blonde girl. And Stiles can tell by his eyes that he, like so many others, even at his young and innocent age, has been smitten by the glorious goddess that is Lydia Martin.

Malia has crawled out of Allison’s embrace and she and her sister are approaching Stiles and Derek. “Where – where did Uncle Zack and Uncle Scotty go?” Malia asks.

Stiles bites his lips before he opens his arms and allows her to wrap her tiny arms around his neck. “Zack just needed some… air.”

Out of the corner of his eyes he can see that Derek has Cora in his arms, holding her against his chest, as if to prevent her from running off too.

And Stiles can still feel Derek’s words sting – also more than they should – but he can also recognize that he took it too far himself.

“Hey, mushroom one and two,” he addresses his nieces, “can you show Ally that new Princess House you got this Christmas from Santa Claus?”

The two girls immediately brighten up – good thing kids have a short attention span, he thinks.

Not ten seconds later and they’re pulling Allison into the kitchen where the Princess House is and Stiles hears Allison say: “Is it really from Santa?” to which Cora replies: “Yes, because my Uncle Scotty sayses so he doesn’t lie!”

Stiles turns to Lydia but he doesn’t even have to voice his question, she’s already nodding, gesturing for them to leave. And so they do.

Derek and Stiles head upstairs, none of them looking at the other, the silence as tense as their shoulders.

Derek is leading the way and he continues down the hallway, all the way down to their bedroom. He opens the door and disappears inside. Stiles stops for a second, sighs, and then follows with a feeling like his going towards his certain death.

He closes the door behind him and that makes it feel so… official. They’ve never done this thing before. They’ve only argued a handful of times before, but those were pretty big fights too. They always bicker yes but they never fight. And when they did they usually pretended it was nothing until they eventually forget about it because that was a lot easier than to deal with it and talk about it.

They aren’t so lucky this time.

Stiles’ bed is against the wall to their right and Derek’s matrass is on the floor right next to it. They haven’t really spoken the days they’ve shared the bedroom, mostly they’ve gone to bed after three and then they’ve been too tired or too exhausted or too bothered to have any form for conversation going.

Again: now they aren’t so lucky. 

Derek turns very slowly and looks at Stiles, and again, there’s this look of pure, white hate in his eyes and it makes Stiles gulp.

He feels… weak, but also angry and frustrated and… confused and slightly disgusted and embarrassed and disturbed.

In the end Stiles is the one to break the silence: “I’m sorry about what I said. It’s not true. You’re not a disappointment. Your mom and my dad love you very much. Hell, I’m sure even Mr. Hale and Mr. McCall love you and they are both stonehearted assholes, so…”

Derek inhales sharply, eyes still dark with anger. “Apology accepted.”

Stiles frowns and waits and furrows his eyebrows. “Wait, is that is?”

“What more do you want?” Derek sneers.

“What about an apology as well?”

“For what?”

Stiles’ mouth actually hangs opens before he shakes his head and laughs dryly. “You piece of shit.”

Derek just rolls his eyes.

“What is your problem? Why the fuck did you say all that shit down there – “

“Maybe I meant it?” Derek throws back and –

Ow, yes, that hurt more than it should. Wow.

Stiles clenches his jaw painfully before he inhales sharply and shakes his head again. “Look, I don’t give two pieces of shit what you think about me, we can’t argue like this, we’ll ruin everyone’s holiday.”

Derek doesn’t say anything, just looks at Stiles and it makes the younger boy so fucking frustrated. “Why are you just standing there? What – why are you…” Silence. “What have I done to possibly piss you off this bad?” More silence. “Come on, we were fine yesterday!” Utter silence. “Come on, I’m your _brother_!”

“No, you’re not!” Derek roars and Stiles actually stumbles back a few steps.

He stares as the older boy with wide eyes and his mouth slightly open. “What…” he whispers.

“You are not my brother,” Derek informs him, voice a little lower and calmer, but still ice cold and harsh.

“Oh,” Stiles says and he can’t swallow because of the bitter taste in his mouth. “So that’s what this is about? I’m not your biological brother.”

“No, you’re not.” Derek looks so indifferent, so cold.

“Ah,” and Stiles is fighting back the tears, dammit. “Well, what about Isaac? Isn’t he your brother?”

Derek furrows his eyebrows. “Of course he is my brother – “

“Then why not me?!” Stiles yells so loud they can probably hear it downstairs.

“You are different!” Derek roars back just as loudly.

Stiles gasp for air and the tears are rolling freely now because he can’t really be bothered to try and stop them. He stares at the other for one second, two seconds, three seconds and – then he moves. He is fast.

Before Derek has time to react Stiles is up and personal, face only millimeters away from Derek’s because the height difference really isn’t as great as people always make it out to be.

Derek isn’t breathing, Stiles notices, before he – still too fast – reaches out and wraps an arm around Derek’s neck to pull him down and in for a hard kiss.

At first Derek doesn’t react and Stiles is utterly terrified he’s misunderstood the entire situation in which case he won’t be able to ever face the boy again – but then Derek responds by placing his big hands on Stiles’ waist and pull him closer until their bodies are pressed against one another and they're panting into each other’s mouths. They pull apart for air for a second before they are at it again.

Derek’s hands are rooming all over Stiles’ body. They run over stomach, to his shoulders, over his arms, back up again, they reach into his messy hair and they run down his neck, his spine, his back and eventually find his ass. When Derek squeezes it Stiles gasp and tries to pull him closer even though they’re standing as close as they can get. When they move it’s because of a combination of Derek pushing and Stiles pulling.

They move toward the door and Derek pushes Stiles against it, hard. Stiles moves his legs a bit so they a further apart and Derek uses this opportunity to put a leg in between them and Stiles gasps again. His hands star rooming downward as well, running over the fabric of Derek’s t-shirt and down to his fine ass.

When Derek’s hands find Stiles’ waist again and lift him up Stiles doesn’t hesitate to obey and wrap one leg around Derek waist. In this position, they are pressed against each other so shamelessly they can easily grind against one another. And Derek isn’t late to realize this. He braces himself with a hand on the door and another on Stiles’ hips before he starts rutting against the younger teenager.

Stiles whimpers like a wounded dog and they break apart for air again. They both have their eyes closed and neither dares to open them again and be physically confronted with what they actually doing.

Stiles’ hands are in Derek’s hair now and he pulls at it desperately as a way to urge him on. The other one follows orders and ruts harder and more desperately against Stiles who has to bite down hard on his lip to make no sounds because god fucking dammit they cannot let anyone now what they doing even if they still have their clothes on and even if it could be a lot worse (Stiles dares to hope), he doesn’t even want to imagine the look on Scott’s face if he walked in on his brothers –

Derek’s movements are too fast but Stiles doesn’t complain. This isn’t beautiful or romantic or anything like that. This isn’t even proper yet, they are basically just dry humping each other. Because what if they actually took if further, what if Stiles let his hand fall between them, opened Derek’s jeans took out his cock and –

He realizes, through the haze of pleasure that’s clouding his mind, that they can’t come like this in their pants. How they hell are they supposed to change without anyone noticing and putting two and two together.

“No,” he whispers and puts a hand on Derek’s chest. The older stops immediately. “We can’t – “

“You’re right – “

“Take your jeans off,” Stiles whispers before Derek has the change to continue that sentence and ruin everything.

And for the first time they look at each other, and they somehow realizes what they’re doing, and this is the moment when they should pull apart, straighten their clothes and –

But they don’t. They just stare at one another for a little while longer and they’re back to kissing and biting and licking into each other’s mouths.

Derek fumbles with his belt and his zipper and when he pulls his jeans down it’s the loudest fucking noise Stiles has ever heard and he winces into the kiss before he resumes with renewed passion.

Once Derek is down to his boxers he starts working on Stiles’ jeans as well. The younger teen can hardly think straight at this point. He wishes they were both just naked, on his bed, grinding, licking, sucking, bruising, fucking –

The jeans fall to the floor and suddenly there are only two thin layers of fabric between them. Stiles can’t help but make this sound in the back of his throat and it makes Derek’s eye grow wide with hunger and lust.

Stiles reaches down between them because he thinks fuck it it’s now or never and into the boxers and –

Derek’s head fall down onto Stiles’ shoulder when Stiles wrap his hand around his cock. Stiles licks his lips hungrily and starts moving his hand up and down in fast movements because they really don’t have time. Derek also reaches between them and finds Stiles’ cock and wraps his hand around that and Stiles gasp at the contact.

They start moving faster and harder and more greedily. Stiles runs his thumb over the slit and Derek’s mouth falls open against Stiles’ neck and not five seconds later and he’s coming into Stiles’ fist. That knowledge alone, that he just made his brother (STEP brother) come, is enough to make Stiles come as well and before they know they are both trying to stifle their desperate panting.

They stand still for another thirty seconds and then Derek straightens his back, pulls up his jeans and takes a step back.

Stiles watches his features fall into their previous grim, hard, ice-cold, harsh state and he can hardly bare the sight of it.

“Here,” Stiles says and tosses Derek a random shirt from the floor to clean up his hand. Derek doesn’t say anything, just cleans up and throws it back to Stiles who does the same. He pulls on his jeans as well and then they’re just standing there, not looking at each other, but also not looking anywhere else.

“We should head back,” Stiles informs him slowly.

“Yes,” Derek agrees with a huff.

Stiles tries to catch Derek’s eyes but with no luck so eventually he swallows a sigh, opens the doors and heads downstairs.

\--

Isaac and Scott haven’t returned. Jackson and Danny are on the couch watching TV with Lydia and Boyd, Erica, the twins and Allison are in the kitchen.

Everyone looks up when Derek and Stiles enter but judging by their expressions no one has heard anything.

“So, are you all better?” Boyd asks.

“We’re just peachy,” Derek growls and sits down next to him.

Stiles’ nostrils flare and he glares at the older boy but doesn’t comment. Lydia sighs and Allison rolls her eyes.

Kira appears from the bathroom with a teddy bear in her arms and announces that Mr. Ted “now can co to the bathroom all by himself but I still need a bit of help” which makes Stiles smile despite his bad mood.

Stiles sits with Kira and Mr. Ted and Derek sits in the other end of the living room and no one misses the obvious hostility they carry around but no one comments on it.

For a few minutes they just sit there, in the living room, waiting for Scott and Isaac to come back.

Kira is getting sleepy and she leans against Stiles who puts an arm around her small frame. She cuddles her large teddy bear and closes her eyes and Stiles can’t help but lean down and place a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

And then the front door opens again and every turn to the door opening but there is no Isaac, there is only Scott, looking exhausted, terrified and distressed. He stands half inside and half outside, like he can’t make up his mind and he stares at the other people in the house who’ve gone very silent very fast.

Then he opens his mouth and very slowly says: “I – I couldn’t find him,” and Stiles can feel his heart drop and his fingers twist and something inside of him feel like it might just burst open and swallow him whole because _no, god, fucking, Christ, no!_

Derek and Lydia get up immediately but Stiles have to carefully unravel himself from Kira and place her on the couch next to the twins.

“What do you mean you couldn’t find him?” Derek growls and despite his obvious anger Stiles can hear the deep worry underneath it, threatening to choke him.

“I looked everywhere,” Scott says and his eyes are wide with panic and his hands are trembling. The sight makes Stiles feel sick. “I couldn’t find him, I don’t know where he is.”

“We gotta go,” Derek’s saying before Scott has even finished his sentence. He grabs his shoes and his coat and his halfway through the door before Lydia says:

“Wait, hold on, we need someone to stay here – one of you three – in case he comes back.”

Derek, Stiles and Scott all look at her but none of them is saying anything because it is obvious they are all eager to get outside and actually look for their little brother.

“Scott, you look tired, why don’t you come inside? I think the twins might need a bit of family here, too,” Allison suggests and Scott doesn’t try to argue, just nods his head and takes a step into the house.

Boyd has left the couch to join the others and behind him trails Jackson, who looks both confused and terrified. Stiles has never seen the kid look so unsure of himself and it makes him feel even more frightened himself.

“Where’s Isaac?” he asks and looks at the “grown-ups” surrounding him.

“Well,” Lydia says, “we don’t know that.”

“But,” Allison quickly adds, “we’ll find him. Right now.”

“Hey, Jackson,” Derek suddenly says and Stiles is surprised the older male can even sound so caring. “I need you to do me a favor, can you do that? You need to stay here, with Scott, and guard the house, yeah? Protect the younger kids, can you do that for me?”

Jackson’s eyes are huge but he nods his head furiously. “Can Danny help?”

Lydia smiles and looks at her brother, sitting between all the younger girls on the couch, and says: “Of course sweetie.” Then she turns her attention back to the others. “I can call Aiden and his brother – “

“Your boyfriend?” Allison asks.

“Yeah,” Lydia nods, “they can help us look for him.”

And ten minutes later a pair of very good looking twins shows up and again Stiles has to wonder why the hell no one is out partying on New Year’s Eve but he isn’t complaining so. 

And he gets his answer, anyway, when he notice the kid (of fucking cause) trailing behind them. 

He has eyes larger than Isaac's and he can't be more than two years old. 

"You brought a kid," Derek comments dryly. 

"We heard it was a kid party," one of the twins says. "Besides, we couldn't just leave him, he's our neighbor, we are babysitting tonight," and at this point Stiles isn't even surprised. Who knew there where even so many kids in Beacon Hills? 

One of the twins – Aiden, he presumes – walks up to Lydia and gives her quick kiss and then they head off. It’s decided that Ethan and Scott will stay home with the kids while everyone else go looking for Isaac. By Scott’s description he has checked really just about everywhere but they have to check again because he has to be _somewhere._

Allison and Stiles head in one direction, Lydia and Aiden in another, and Derek and Boyd disappear before Stiles can see where they’re off to. Not that he cares so long as they find his brother.

It’s a cold night and the air is so cold it’s almost crispy. There’s no snow but there’s still a heavy layer of white frost covering every surface like ice and their breaths come out like white smoke in the dark night. Around them in the houses Stiles can see people celebrating this last day of the year with champagne and other drinks, raising their glasses, shouting greetings across tables, throwing their heads back in earnest laughter. The warmth is obvious and almost mesmerizing through the thin windows. In a few of the houses it’s probably more like a ‘’party’’ than just a gathering of friends and family and Stiles sees a few of his classmates throwing their bodies around to what he assumes is the heavy beat of music. The night is oddly silent safe for some people taking a last walk or a few youngsters running around.

“Where is he?” Allison mumbles.

“I don’t know,” Stiles whispers and clenches his fists. “I don’t fucking know.”

Allison doesn’t bother with ‘’we’ll find him, don’t worry’’ or ‘’it’s not your fault’’ because she knows he won’t have any of that and Stiles is grateful he’s here with her and no one else who would have either blamed him or tried to calm him down and needs neither of those options. He just needs to find Isaac.

They walk from street to street for another twenty minutes and Stiles can feel his blood slowly turn colder and colder in his veins. They’re shouting his name now but he is nowhere to be found it would seem.

And Stiles is about to have a panic attack or something because this is _his_ fault, he never should’ve said anything to Derek, why couldn’t he just accept that the bastard didn’t like him – as a brother or anything else – and told him to _shut up_ and move on, then Isaac would still be here and they wouldn’t be out looking for him in one of the coldest fucking nights of the year and –

“Stiles, are you okay?”

He gasps for air and puts a hand above his heart to feel the constant, fast rhythm of it beneath his fingertips and then he swallows hard and nods before he turns to face Allison and gives her a wry smile.

“Sorry,” he mumbles but she just puts a hand on his arm and guides him onwards.

They’re getting further and further away from the house. They’ve been walking for nearly forty-five minutes and they’re both shivering with cold but they don’t for a moment stop to or even consider going back. Stiles especially keeps pushing forward because he can’t stand the thought of Isaac out there somewhere, alone, freezing, cold and afraid – and all because Stiles fucked up.

Just as they round yet another corner and there’s yet again no sign of the young boy Stiles’ phones rings.

They both freeze and then Stiles is fumbling like a maniac to find the phone in his many layers of clothes.

He doesn’t even check the display before he answers: “Yes?” and even he can hear how utterly desperate his voice sounds.

“We found him,” Derek answers and Stiles exhale and almost sits down on the cold ground right there and then. “But we have a problem, he won’t come out?”

“What – what do you mean he won’t come out?” Stiles answers. And for the first time he notice that his own fingers are so cold they’re practically numb, how his teeth are clicking and how his lips are blue and dry and probably bleeding.

“He’s in the woods, he’s found a little cave and he won’t come out,” Derek explains. He doesn’t sound angry, he sounds tired and relieved.

“Okay, so what do we do?” Stiles asks.

“You have to get here now.”

Stiles closes his eyes. “I doubt my presence will do much difference, Derek, he isn’t exactly _thrilled_ – “

“He won’t get out before you and I have made up,” Derek interrupts and his voice has some of that edge again, that edge that pokes Stiles’ chest like a knife.

He ignores it and quickly says: “Okay, I’m on my way.”

“Just go back around the house and straight forward, you won’t miss me,” Derek explains and Stiles gives a quick “got it” before he hangs up.

Allison is looking at him with a big smile plastered on her face. “They found him?”

“Yes, I gotta go get him, though,” Stiles says.

“Thank god,” she exclaims and she too looks like she could just sit down forever even if it is on the cold, hard ground beneath them.

“Let’s go,” Stiles says and she nods and they quickly head back home.

\--

He is walking through the night by himself. Above him the fireworks are bursting and their familiar sizzling sound fills his ear but he hardly notices. Allison is home with her niece and Boyd, too, must have left because when Stiles sees Derek’s back there’s no one else in sight.

He is sitting on his knees at the edge of the woods, leaning forward but towards what Stiles can’t see. He quickly runs up to him however and by the sound of him approaching Derek turns to look at him. In the dark Stiles can’t tell if his eyes are darker than usual.

“Hey,” he greets before he gets on his knees next to the older male.

Now he has a clear view of what Derek is also seeing:

Underneath the roots of fallen tree there is a sort of cave. Not a big one, Stiles doubts he could crawl in there, but big enough for a seven years old to hide in.

Isaac is sitting in the cave, as far away from his brothers as possible, arms wrapped around his long legs and his entire body shivering and trembling. He looks up when Stiles enters and when Stiles meets his eyes, blue meeting brown, he exhales loudly and can’t help but smile so wide it actually hurts.

“Oh thank fucking god, you’re okay, Isaac, you’re okay, you’re okay,” and he doesn’t even notice that he’s crying before he feel the wet tears on his cheeks.

Isaac looks disturbed by this and he actually crawls a little further out. “Why are you crying, Stiles?” he asks.

“Oh,” Stiles says and wipes the tears away with the back of his hand. “Oh, well, I’m just really happy you’re okay, kiddo, really fucking happy.”

Isaac glances at Derek and back at Stiles and whispers loudly: “Stiles, you’re not supposed to swear around me when others can hear it, too,” and this has Stiles laughing.

“Derek won’t tell anyone,” Stiles promises.

Isaac doesn’t look convinced but he nods nevertheless. And then he seems to remember why he’s in the cave in the first place and his face contorts into this heartbreaking grimace and he says: “Stop fighting!”

Both Stiles and Derek inhale sharply at the outburst and look at each other and then back at Isaac.

“We’re not fighting anymore, buddy,” Derek says and reaches out his hand for Isaac to take it. The kid just looks at it though and then goes back to make his horrible heartbreaking grimace.

“Come on, kid, you know how I am,” Stiles says and even manage a somewhat believable laugh. “I always argue with someone, it doesn’t mean – “

“ _No_!” Isaac cries and the sound makes Stiles choke on his own spit. “No, you don’t, not like this.”

“What do you mean, buddy?” Derek asks carefully.

Isaac looks at them and his blue eyes are foggy with tears and Stiles just wants to wrap his arms around the kid because no one at the age of seven should look as truly devastated as he does.

“I thinked – I thinked you would hit each other,” the kid says in a voice that is too high and too broken and sometimes when he gets really upset he forgets the grammar and makes mistake and that is how Stiles knows the kid isn’t angry or tired, he is upset and it is all on Stiles and Derek, they did this to their brother.

“And I don’t want you to _hit_ each other,” he continues and hides his face against his knees.

Stiles feels like someone dropped him in ice-cold water.

Stiles should’ve known better after the whole incident in the wardrobe closet a few weeks ago and yet here they are and yet again he forgot that Isaac may look like any other kid but god forbid he isn’t. And just because the bruises on his fragile body have long healed and he acts all happy and cocky it doesn’t mean that he is actually okay. His father did unspeakable things to him and Stiles has never hated anyone the way he hates Mr. Lahey.

“Oh, Isaac, kiddo,” Stiles whispers and he is positive he’s crying again but he doesn’t care. “No, no we _wouldn’t._ We would never hit each other. We just don’t know how to talk to each other always because Derek and I are both morons but we are brothers – “

“No you’re not,” Isaac whispers so lowly Stiles almost doesn’t hear but he does and by the way Derek stiffens next to him he is positive he’s heard too.

“What do you mean?” Stiles asks and swallows hard. He doesn’t dare glance at Derek just then.

“You’re different,” Isaac says and looks at them with his tearful eyes. “You’re not brothers like we are brothers.”

And god, Stiles’ father is right, this kid it too observant for his own good. “But we still love each other,” Stiles says because he doesn’t think this is the time or place to convince Isaac that he is _wrong_ about Stiles and Derek and that they are very much _just_ brothers.

“Yeah,” Derek finally says, “we do. See?” and he puts his arm around Stiles and it doesn’t feel forced, it feels natural and Stiles can’t help but lean into the comfortable embrace. “And we love you to, buddy, you are our little brother. And think about Scott and Aunty Laura and the twins, they all love you, too.”

“And mom and dad,” Stiles quickly follows up. “They love you more than words can tell.”

“Yes,” Derek says and his voice and firm and gentle and strong. Stiles could listen to it for hours nonstop he thinks. “Please come out, buddy, everyone’s worried about you.”

Isaac looks at them and the tears have finally stopped flowing down his cheeks. He is silent for a long while and neither Stiles nor Derek dare to open their mouths and say something wrong. So they just sit still and watch their younger brother until he finally nods and rushes out of the cave.

Stiles and Derek both wraps their arms around him and hugs him tight. He is so cold it physically hurts Stiles’ fingers to touch his skin. God, what would’ve happened if they hadn’t found him?

Stiles swallows hard, closes his eyes and buries his face against Isaac's neck for a second, breathing in the scent of Isaac, too grateful that he’s okay to even bother with trying to scold the child for running away like that.

They quickly get up however because they have to get Isaac inside as fast as possible. And now that he’s out of his cave it seems like he realizes how tired and frightened he really was because he starts crying again and Derek, being the strongest, lifts him up so he can carry him home. Stiles quickly pulls his jacket off and wraps it around the little boy and then they leave.

At first they walk in silence but then Isaac stops crying and they hear his breathing grow heavier and heavier until they are certain he is asleep.

Stiles inhales sharply and says: “Look, I’m really sorry – “

“No, _I_ should apologies,” Derek interrupts.

Stiles looks up at him but the other boy is looking straight ahead as he’s walking. “I didn’t mean any of that shit I said,” Stiles says just to clarify.

“No,” Derek sighs, “me neither. It was stupid, it was just…” Stiles swallows hard and clenches his fists. “It was stupid, after that thing a few days ago, against the door, and it was nothing but I just couldn’t… couldn’t get it out my head.”

No matter how many times Stiles swallows the lump in his throat does not get any smaller. “No,” he croaks out, “I know, me too.”

And then they walk in silence again.

Stiles doesn’t know what he’s supposed to do or say because –

Because this didn’t just happen one day, he didn’t wake up one morning just to realize he had a crush on his step brother. Even back when they’d lived together, way before Stiles ever thought of Derek that way, he still somehow knew things were different with Derek. He was never a brother the way Scott and Isaac were, he was never family like Laura and the twins, and it hadn’t really mattered because he was sort of like your-best-friend's-hot-older-brother and that was cool too. Stiles never loved him any less he just loved him differently. And then Derek had moved away and only came home for the holidays and holy shit a lot could happen in those few months he was gone. And slowly but surely Stiles realized it wasn’t just a hero worship thingy that was going on, it was something more dangerous than that.

“It can’t ever happen again,” Derek says and he finally looks at Stiles and their eyes meet and –

“No,” Stiles whispers, “It can’t.”

“I really am sorry. About everything.”

“Yeah, me too.”

They can see the house by now and in the doorway they see Jackson and Scott waving. Stiles waves back.

“Hey,” Derek says and they both stop for just a split second. “You are a good brother.”

Stiles inhales and says: “So are you.”

And then they walk back into the house with a sleeping Isaac.

\--

When they’re inside Scott fusses over Isaac, wraps him in several layers of blankets and serve him hot cocoa and asks if he alright but mostly the boy just snores, still heavily asleep.

“I let Jackson stay the night,” he explains. “Kira, Allison and Erica left a little while ago, so did Lydia with Danny, the twins and the little kid, Liam. Malia and Cora are sound asleep in their room.”

“Great,” Derek exhales.

“I’m tired,” Jackson whines and Scott rolls his eyes but takes the boy’s hand nevertheless.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed. Derek, can you – “

“Sure,” Derek nods and lifts Isaac up into his strong arm. The two brothers disappear upstairs.

Stiles just stands in the middle of the room, looking around at the toys scattered around the living room on the floor, on the Christmas tree that looks like someone tried to set fire to it and at the TV showing Rapunzel.

He is still standing in the exact same position when Derek comes downstairs.

Stiles looks at the clock on the wall and is surprised to see that it’s almost one.

“Huh, would’ve you look at that,” he mumbles.

“What?” Derek says as he walks into the room.

Stiles turns to look at him and there is a hint of sadness in both their gazes. “Happy New Year, Derek.”

Derek manages a small smile. “Happy New Year.”

\--

A few hours later they’re all headed for bed. It’s New Year’s Eve and it’s not even three o’clock but they’ve all had more than enough adventure for one evening.

Stiles considers for a brief second to sleep in the twins’ bedroom but decides not to be a coward. He changes in the bathroom and when he re-enters the bedroom Derek is already standing in his pajama pants and a white t-shirt.

Stiles swallows hard and gets into his bed without looking at the other boy.

“Stiles,” Derek says and he finally turns to look at him.

“Yeah,” he says.

“Everyone’s asleep,” Derek states. “And I’m leaving tomorrow.”

Stiles clenches his jaw. “They are,” he agrees. “You are.”

Then they look at one another in silence for a minute maybe two before Stiles, without another word, move further away in his bed making room for Derek to climb in.

And he does without second guessing it.

And Stiles wraps his arms around his firm body and presses his forehead against Derek’s shoulder and Derek’s sighs and puts a hand on Stiles’ hip.

“You know what’s sad,” Stiles whispers. “I could probably get used to this.”

“Yeah,” Derek whispers, “I could, too.”

And then none of them says anything. They’re not asleep, either of them, but they aren’t speaking anymore either. The silence isn’t tense or awkward, it’s actually almost comfortable. Stiles knows, somewhere inside of him, that if he made a move right now Derek wouldn’t try to resist, he would just roll with it. He knows, he could make Derek fuck him into oblivion right now. He knows this and yet he doesn’t dare move his arm because he doesn’t want sex (well, he doesn’t only want sex), he wants Derek, all of him, and even if this is all he’ll ever really get, even if this is their only night as something besides brothers, Stiles is going to hold onto it for as long as possible and not ruin it with his stupid, fucking teenage hormones.

Eventually he falls asleep, still pressed against Derek’s side, cuddled as close to the older male as possible.

He doesn’t wake up when Derek does.

And when Stiles finally wakes up he is alone in his room. On the table next to his bed is a note.

_Sorry, had to leave before breakfast. I’ll see you at Easter. Say hello to Scott from me. – Derek_

Stiles sits on his bed with the note in his hand for a very long time but – but he doesn’t really know what to do. Because yes, he is sad, yes he feels like this is all stupid, because if Stiles’ father and Derek’s mother hadn’t married they could’ve been together! But he also feels… relived. He feels like he had a taste of something good and now at least he has an idea of what it would be like, with him and Derek, had things been different but they aren’t and that – that is okay too because the way things are now, those things brought him Scott and Isaac and Laura and the twins and Melissa as well as Derek and he wouldn’t want it any other way.


End file.
